Muna.Co: Project Inspiration Part I

As a first source of inspiration for our work within the module we’d like to refer to a tv spot that was quite famous when it first aired. The ‘Love has no Labels’ campaign by Ad Council focuses on appreciating diversity and inclusion of ‘special’ people. We think this closely aligns with the goals that Muna.Co tries to achieve with their cooking workshops, namely including people that otherwise somehow feel left out of society into activities that normally are not easily accessible for them. The project provides people with a reference group and support, it provides them with surroundings that give them a sense of belonging. It provides a feeling of inclusion, rather than always being the exception in society. The ‘Love has no Labels’ campaign does something similar, it includes everyone in the concept of love without any judgements or misconceptions that are sometimes made about certain groups of people. They’ve communicated the message that love is for everyone in a very unique way by creating a public stand that functions somewhat like a live-action x-ray machine. People watching the setting from the front only see what you would see if you’d be watching the results of an x-ray: the outlines and bone structure of human beings. The people ‘behind’ the installation that are using it, perform a display of love, which the spectators see performed by these ‘skeletons’ that all look the same – they all look human. After a short display the actors that want to show their love emerge from behind the screen and reveal to be unlikely or mostly unaccepted (by society) versions of love: we see same sex couples, people with disabilities, elderly, different races together and also same sex couples that have children. The message is clear: it doesn’t matter how old you are, what color your skin has, with or without disability and regardless of your sexual preference – love is for everyone. This can be translated to the Muna.Co project, regardless of who you are you should be accepted in society and have a chance. Some people with disabilities or those from different backgrounds are tired of always being looked down upon, always being seen as a special case – each and everyone of them being discriminated in a certain way. The installation used in this campaign is a unique and effective way of communicating the message they had. Muna.Co’s message is to be a caretaking project that includes people from all layers of society into cultural activities, everyone should have these chances, everyone should be accepted in their very own way – even if this means that we sometimes need to lend a hand to get them there.